Toritsuki
by TenshiXXX
Summary: Popular and intelligent with model-worthy looks, it's no surprise that Hyuuga Neji would pick up a stalker along the way. This stalker seems hell-bent on making Neji his, and Shikamaru is unfortunately trapped in the middle. How troublesome. ShikaNeji.
1. Chapter 1

_To my wonderful friend Headraline, who brought me over to the dark side. So to speak._

As most people who read my fics know, I'm normally a GaaNeji writer. Well, I was until this Shikamaru lookalike decided that I needed a change of scenery. So she got me hooked on ShikaNeji, and even drew me a fantastic picture, which you can see by going to her gallery on DeviantArt.

Fear not, though, GaaNeji fans; I promise that I'll continue to write my GaaNeji fics. I'm just not as enthusiastic about it as I was. My deepest apologies. Again, blame Headraline XD

I'll just keep you from reading my fic a little longer to recommend that you read Yaoilovergirl's fics, A Little Bit Of Peace And Quiet, and Fateful Days. She has promised to write me a continuation on that includes ShikaNeji, rather than NejiShika. Which I hate. I cannot possibly convey how much I hate it.

**EDIT 16/06/09: That's right. I've finally gotten around to editing this thing. As you can see, I've taken quite a bit out. What an improvement.**

Now, without further ado, on with the fic!

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The follower smirked to himself as he adjusted the zoom on the video camera he held, buzzing with anticipation and longing. He tightened his hold on the piece of filming equipment, his eyes taking in the sight of the brunet beginning to undress as he readied for a shower. Pressing the record button, he began to film.

He had been observing Hyuuga Neji for a while now. He had first seen the attractive teenager in a small coffee shop in the city centre, reading a thick book with a warm sweet cappuccino held in his hand. The follower had been star-struck, at first, and had paused by the door to stare at Neji, moving only when somebody complained that he was blocking the way.

He had apologised absently before making his way over to a seat close to where the brunet was sitting. He had known that staring would attract attention ordinarily, but he hadn't been able to stop himself from greedily scrutinising the teenagers' body. Neji was rather tall, but not overly so. He was perhaps six feet in height, and slender yet toned. His ebony hair hung down to the small of his back in a thick fall of dark silk, contrasting beautifully with his porcelain skin and pale eyes. Needless to say, he was attractive enough to be a model, though it was clear that he had no desire to become one. For one thing, he was not dressed in immaculate slacks or anything branded and was instead wearing a simple pair of relatively tight black jeans and a white sweater. In addition, it was probable that he would be perusing the latest fashion magazines if becoming a model was a career option he was considering rather than reading a thick book called "Les Mots et les choses. Une archéologie des sciences humaines" by somebody called "Michel Foucault". Obviously, this young man was very intelligent and rather bookish. The Follower had smirked to himself. He liked intelligent.

He tilted his head to the side examining the brunet as Neji took a sip of his beverage, pink lips pursing enticingly around the rim of the mug. He was perfect, it seemed. Smart, attractive and...well, The Follower had no idea what, but who cares about anything else? Those things were all that mattered. And that was when he decided. This gorgeous teenager was going to be his.

So he had begun to follow Neji. Stalk wasn't the right word, though, because that implied that they weren't meant to be together. Which was utter crap. He preferred the term followed, and thus he had taken up the tacky moniker of "The Follower" long ago. Perhaps it wasn't the wittiest alias, but it was short and sweet and truthful.

He soon discovered the brunet's name, who Neji's friends were, where he lived, where he went to school, where he hung out. Soon, he even knew Neji's weight and height and other incredibly private things that most people wouldn't know. But, up until now, the thought of watching Neji showering had never occurred to him. Yet he found it undeniably appealing.

Hence the reason he was currently perched on a branched outside the open window, his camera held in a trembling grip, as he watched Neji slip the bathrobe off his shoulders and let it drop gracefully to the floor. He felt his cock harden so fast, he was surprised it didn't snap off as he gazed at the perfect ass, taut and round and milky white like the rest of him. The Follower zoomed in even further, wanting to get the best view of the sight presented to him. However, it was the thing Neji did next that really got him.

With his back to the window still, Neji bent over to retrieve his bathrobe, obviously deciding against leaving it on the floor, presenting an incredible view of his...The Follower had to check for a nosebleed. Straightening up, Neji hooked the robe on the hook behind the door and stepped into the shower, tipping his head back under the hot spray of water as his lips parted with a sigh.

God, he looked so breath-taking! The glass door hadn't fogged up yet, and The Follower could still see him clearly, his dark hair quickly becoming soaked, plastered to his perfect back, droplets of water trickling down his body, catching on peaked pink nipples before dripping over a toned flat stomach and into trimmed dark curls...

The Follower slapped himself. At this rate, he was going to get caught. He was hardly being inconspicuous by unconsciously moving closer to the window and into the light. Making sure that Neji had not spotted him yet, he heaved a sigh of relief. Neji was facing away from the window and didn't appear to have the faintest idea that he was being spied on. The Follower scooted back into the shadows, making certain to keep his camera steady.

He watched the brunet raptly for a while longer. When it became clear that he was going to be a while, The Follower slipped along the branch and with great difficulty manoeuvred himself onto another branch which came close enough to Neji's bedroom window to tap against the glass. Unfortunately, the end was much too thin to support his weight and he was forced to jump the last few feet, slamming into the wall as his fingers scrabbled for against windowsill. After a tense moment in which he wondered whether he was going to fall three stories to his death, he was able to haul himself onto the narrow ledge and prise the window wide before clambering in.

He could hear the sound of the shower, as the door was slightly open, and he briefly considered slipping into the bathroom and watching Neji shower close up. But he knew that would be a bad idea. Neji would spot him straight away, and that would mean an end to any thoughts of them being together. No, he had to groom the brunet first, send him little gifts and notes, and show his affection for Neji. And then he would pounce. If anyone got in his way, if anyone decided to move in on his territory, he would simply dispose of them, either through blackmail, or more violent means. Nothing was going to stop him from being with his Neji. Nothing.

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Neji paused as he dried his hair with a fluffy white towel, looking in the direction of his bedroom. It sounded like something had just fallen over. He frowned to himself and picked up a towel, wrapping it loosely around his hips, before padding into his room. The only light came from a small desk lamp he had left on after finishing his homework, which illuminated the room enough for him to know that there was absolutely nothing out of place. He furrowed his brow and turned to the bathroom, glancing back with confusion. He was _sure _that he'd heard something.

If he had looked underneath his bed, he would have discovered the source of the noise straight away. Because, lying flat on his stomach as he peaked out from the darkness, was a tall man with tanned skin and jet black hair who had a white hockey mask sitting beside him. He looked completely normal. Except for the expression of rabid hunger on his face and his trembling hands which were reaching towards Neji involuntarily.

The Follower kept his eyes fixed firmly to the door until it closed, then cautiously crawled out from underneath the bed as he fixed his mask back in place, his precious quarry held tightly in his hand. It was a completely unremarkable white comb. But what interested The Follower was the single raven hair trapped between the teeth. Pulling it out gently, so as not to break it, he held it to his nose and sniffed it. God, it smelled of spiced peaches. He stared at the hair in indecision for a moment before his slipped it inside a plastic bag and tucked it away in his pocket, then carefully crept around the room in search of more of that incredible scent. He soon discovered Neji's pillows and, after glancing briefly at the bathroom, buried his face in one, moaning at the smell. He wished he could take it with him, but he knew that, while Neji wouldn't miss a single hair off his comb, he would most certainly miss his pillow. With a regretful sigh, he reluctantly placed the pillow back in its original position and glanced around the room. He needed to figure out Neji's likes and dislikes so he could better worm his way into the brunet's life.

It was a very large room with more space than the brunet had utilized. He had a round bed with a canopy over it pushed against the wall quite close to the window. Like the thick velvety carpet underfoot and the satin curtains, it was entirely white with shimmering silk sheets and a dozen plump pillows. The Follower vaguely recalled a story he had heard as a child about a Princess who could feel a pea through about twenty mattresses and smirked as he examined the rest of the room.

The walls were pale lilac and there was a beautiful traditional Japanese-style painting of a bird in one corner, white like almost everything else. The furniture was maple, including the desk and walk in closet. There was also a modern bubble chair, a pretty lilac colour to match the walls, next to a wide screen television and sound system. Other than that, the room was bare, yet it was stylish and elegant in its simplicity.

To his annoyance, however, there was no indication of Neji's interests or hobbies. Not feeling guilty in the slightest, he pulled open the closet door and peered inside, raising an eyebrow at the vast amount of space, all of which was crammed with clothes. It seemed that his earlier assessment that Neji did not wear brand clothes was incorrect. The Follower filed that information away for later, though he would didn't think he'd be able to buy such expensive clothes on his busboy salary. He would just have to purchase relatively cheap trinkets and trust in the fact that Neji didn't seem materialistic and would appreciate the effort.

His gaze paused on a silver laptop, which was lying open on his desk. He made his way over to it, hoping that there wasn't a password and stopped dead as jealously reared its ugly head. It was completely irrational, but he couldn't help it. He had to stop himself from hurling the laptop across the room when he saw the picture of a handsome teenaged boy that Neji had as a screensaver. Neji never talked to Nara Shikamaru, but The Follower knew, with utmost certainty, that Neji had a gargantuan crush on the brainy baseball star. It was a mystery why he was on the baseball team, since he was incredibly lazy and preferred to do nothing, but that detail was irrelevant. The point was that Neji liked him, and that just would not do.

Unfortunately, Neji did have a password. He tried several combinations in quick succession, being aware that he didn't have much time left, and was annoyed when none of them yielded results. He glared at the laptop as though it was its fault, refusing to type anything with the word "Shikamaru" in it, even though it was likely that this would ensure that he got in. Instead, he yanked open a drawer, mildly surprised by the thick black book inside which he knew to be Neji's diary, having seen him write in it every night before bed.

Taking a backwards glance, he became frantic as he heard the sound of the door handle turning. He was close to the window, but could he make it in time? Stuffing the journal up his shirt, he managed to get one leg out of the window before Neji came back in. The Follower had forgotten that he was three stories up and the branch near Neji's window would probably not support his weight, but there was nothing he could do about that now.

Neji entered the room with his dark hair dry and sleek. Obviously, he had dried his hair while he was in the bathroom, which had given The Follower more time. He was dressed in a pair of black satin pyjamas that seemed overly baggy on him, clearly being made for comfort rather than appearance. Still, it looked breath-taking against his white skin and white bedroom and matched his hair perfectly.

Stupidly, The Follower forgot that he wasn't supposed to be there and sent Neji a look of awe. The brunet swept some of his loose hair behind his ear, not noticing the black figure against the inky sky outside until The Follower made a fatal mistake.

"Neji," he whispered longingly, the camera clattering to the ground. The brunet's eyes widened and he whirled around, his mouth opening in shock and horror at the greedy look on the young man's face, and the fact that he was halfway through the bedroom window.

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"Who are you?" Neji snapped, retreating until his back came into contact with the chest of drawers.

When the strange man didn't reply but continued to stare at him, Neji became impatient.

"Get the hell out of my house!" he spat.

"No," the man replied, advancing on the stunned brunet.

"What do you want?" Neji asked, his voice coming out a little weaker now that he could see the extent of this man's madness. It was etched into his greedy, breathy voice and trembling fingers that were held out towards him and the rapid rise and fall of his chest. Neji had never been as scared in his life as he was now.

"You," the man breathed. Neji's temper flared even as his fear intensified, causing him to feel a strange mixture on both emotions.

"I _don't _want you, you sick bastard!" he shouted, his face flushing pink with indignation, faltering only slightly at the way the man drew himself up furiously. It twisted his handsome features into something grotesque and hideous, a parody of attractiveness disfigured by an intimidating stance.

"No, you'd rather have Nara Shikamaru, wouldn't you?" he spat, his voice permeated with disgust and jealousy. Neji stared at him in shock, unable to comprehend how this man knew about his feelings towards the attractive genius. Not unless he had been following Neji around for months, stalking him, devouring Neji with that filthy gaze as the brunet remained blissfully unaware that the unsettling feeling of being watched wasn't just his imagination. Neji shuddered and moved away from that train of though. Or at least, tried to. He couldn't help but wonder whether this stalker had been watching him sleep at night, staring with unabashed hunger as Neji got dressed in the morning, perhaps even masturbating as the brunet showered.

Neji didn't even realise that he was close to hyperventilating. The thought of this man following his every move like some sort of predator left him feeling sick with fear. He had no idea what this man was capable of, and the fact that he seemed to be a total nut job only confirmed his suspicions that he was in very real danger.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, but the tremor in his voice gave him away.

"Oh, I think you do," was the heated reply, "I've seen the way you stare at him with that look in your eyes. You'd give anything to have him, wouldn't you? But there's no chance of that happening, since everyone's saying he has a thing for Sabaku Temari,"

He spoke in an offhand way, as though it was common knowledge, when in fact this piece of information was a lie. Still, it was worth it to see the adorable crushed look in Neji's eyes that wasn't hidden quick enough for him to miss it.

"Just because he doesn't like me, that doesn't mean I'm going to start liking a perverted stalker like you," Neji replied coldly, edging sideways along the drawers. There was no point in screaming for help because his Uncle and cousins were in another city and wouldn't be back until tomorrow afternoon. Neji cursed himself for declining the invitation. There was nothing for it. He was going to have to make a break for it and hope to God that this man couldn't keep up with him. The man saw what he was doing and tried to stop him, but he was foiled by Neji reaching behind himself and hurling a thick tome at him. It connected with a thud and Neji wasted no time in running as fast as he could down the stairs, his dark hair flying out behind him as his heart thudded against his ribs. He could hear that man thundering down the stairs after him and picked up the pace.

The door was locked, he found out after precious seconds of frantic grappling with trembling hands. When he finally realised that it was futile, he cast around for the key with wide eyes. Plunging his hand into a fancy potted plant, he prayed that the spare was still safely tucked away in there. He barely managed to pull his hand back with the key clasped loosely in his fist before he was slammed into the door, winded.

"Don't run away!" the man said, crazed and pleading at once as he held Neji against the door. The brunet flinched, bringing his hands up to push at the stalker's biceps. Unfortunately, this man anticipated his move and grabbed his wrists in an iron grip, holding them above his head. In a last fit of desperation, Neji brought his knee up as hard as he could, feeling the bone slam into the man's groin. He was disgusted to feel that the man was hard, and felt a burst of savage pleasure as the stalker doubled over, groaning in pain. Neji wasted no time and got the key into the lock, fumbling only slightly, before pitching out of the door, stumbling, then sprinting off into the darkness. He knew that the pain would fade in a little while, and when it did, he was going to be after Neji again.

The fact that it was winter and it was therefore dark outside had its pros and cons. Fortunately, nobody was around to see him running around the streets in satin pyjamas. _Un_fortunately, there was nobody around to help. He hated feeling weak like this, but he couldn't win against that guy. While he was about an inch shorter than Neji, he was muscular and sturdy. The brunet would have no chance. It was better to run.

He got to the end of his street in record time, glad that he lived in a rich neighbourhood and didn't have to worry about cutting his bare feet on glass or other debris. It was a good thing he was physically fit, though, because the street was long and he needed to get out of sight on his house quickly to lose the insane man.

He skidded around the corner, panting harshly as his eyes darted around. He ran across the road, knowing that the stalker would expect him to continue along the sidewalk and around the corner. He kept expecting to hear the pounding of feet catching up to him and increased his pace, his eyes wide and fearful.

He could feel the searing pain of a cramp in his side but refused to stop running at a punishing speed. He turned down an alley, silently praying that it wasn't a dead end, and luckily came out into a street that was full of high rise apartment blocks. They were expensive, though not as expensive as his own home. However, this street was as deserted as the one he had just come out of. It was eight o'clock at night in November, afterall. Nobody wanted to be out in that. Even though Neji had been running for so long, he was starting to shiver. Still, he pressed on, needing to escape. He couldn't let his guard down for one minute. He had to keep moving, had to get away from this obsessive freak that seemed intent on making Neji his.

But finally he could run no more. He stopped for a moment, bracing himself against a lamp post as he struggled to get his breath back. He could wait here for a minute. That stalker was bound to be miles behind him now-

"I told you not to run away from me!" came a demented yell from the end of the street, echoing throughout the deserted night. Neji's heart began to pound again and he took off, even though his side was still aching fiercely. His feet were throbbing and he was close to tears, and he just wanted to black out so that he could remain blissfully unaware of what was happening. But he didn't and continued on as he stifled small sobs, not willing to let this man anywhere near him and refusing to let his fear show. He had more pride than that.

Eventually, he sank to his knees, unable to go any further. His lungs were burning with every breath and his feet felt mangled. He was trembling with fatigue and couldn't bring himself to care that he was kneeling on the filthy ground in expensive satin pyjamas. He let out a choked sob.

He'd heard stories on the news about stalkers, about how they attacked and raped and killed their obsessions. They deluded themselves into thinking that the person who's footsteps they dogged loved them back, and the rejection cut them to the core. Burned, their obsessions became one of hatred, and they turned violent. In the end, the victim was often brutally killed.

A gasp was wrenched from his throat as he was yanked violently and thrown into a wall. The rough bricks skinned his elbows and bruised his back, but he was only dimmly aware of this fact. He could only stare in horror as the man pressed him into the wall, his face inches away. Neji could see his coal black eyes through the slits in his hockey mask. The rabid hunger in them only increased his fear and desperation.

Neji was close to hyperventilating. His breathing had sped up noticably, yet he didn't allow himself to cry. Not even as a single dark hand wound its way down his body to fumble with his pajamas.

Then suddenly it was all over. One minute the man was breathing hotly into Neji's neck, fingers fumbling with silk pajama pants, the next the man was ripped away and landed among a group of trash cans with an audible crash.

He heard slow footsteps cringed. They got closer and closer and-

"Stay away from me, you pervert!" he snapped, his voice trembling.

"You've lost it, Hyuuga," a familiar voice said. This statement was followed up with a yawn and signature "Troublesome".

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Shikamaru stared at the normally impassive Hyuuga with raised eyebrows. He was a little disturbed by the way the proud teenager trembled on the ground with his hands covering his head, dressed in fancy pyjamas. He was even more disturbed by how damaged and weak the normally proud teenager looked.

"Oi, Hyuuga," Shikamaru tried, his voice no longer bored, "He's gone now,"

Instead of answering in an untroublesome way, the brunet looked up at him for a moment, then averted his gaze as though embarrassed.

"Shikamaru," he said softly.

Neji could feel his cheeks heating up quickly as he defensively wrapped his arms around his own shivering form. To his surprise, he felt the unmistakable sensation of a soft warm jacket being draped around his shoulders, chasing away a little of the chill.

"Thanks," he muttered awkwardly, finally looking at Shikamaru's lazily smirking face.

"Don't mention it," he replied, sending the stalker a little grin.

They were quiet for a moment, Neji trying and failing to keep his gaze away from Shikamaru for more than a few seconds.

Shikamaru probably noticed, but didn't seem to care much. He slowly wrapped an arm around Neji's slim, shivering form. While the jacket was quite thick, Neji was wearing very thin clothes that let in most of the cold underneath, and it hadn't done _much _good. This action caused a furious blush stain Neji's cheeks. He sincerely hoped that Shikamaru would believe him if he claimed that it was caused by the cold..

"I'm going home," Neji told Shikamaru. He was sure that locking all the doors and windows and drawing the curtains would provide enough protection against the psycho. If not, he always had his phone. He would phone the police, but he didn't even know the man's name, or what his face looked like thanks to that mask. The only thing he knew about the man's appearance was that he had dark skin, dark hair and dark eyes. And he sure as hell wasn't going to try to wrestle him down and remove the mask from his face, as it was almost certain that Neji would lose and end up in the stalker's grasp.

"Of course you can't go home," Shikamaru said in response, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Not with this fuckwit still hanging around,"

"Well, I certainly have no where else to go," Neji reasoned, "I need a shower after this anyway. One that _doesn't _come with a complimentary peeping-tom staring at me like I'm 126 lbs of prime steak," (1).

"What, only?" Shikamaru asked, referring to Neji's weight, "You need to eat more, Hyuuga, or you'll disappear if you're not careful,"

Neji turned his glower to the smirking genius, not really sure who was irritating him the most at that moment.

"Hn," he responded shortly, "I'm going home,"

"I already said you can't," Shikamaru said with annoyance, "You couldn't hold this guy off on your own,"

"My doors and windows have locks," Neji pointed out irritably.

"Locks can be picked," Shikamaru countered.

"Then phone the police!" Neji snapped. Shikamaru shrugged.

"It's troublesome," he replied.

Neji glared at him angrily.

"So you act like you're defending me, but you refuse to phone the police on the grounds that it's too troublesome?" Neji asked incredulously.

"Pretty much, yeah," Shikamaru replied, earning look of purest venom from the Hyuuga.

"Whatever," Neji replied with a snort of disgust, turning to walk away. He paused at the lax grip on his slim wrist, the skin warm and calloused from hours of playing baseball. He was disconcerted by the size of that hand . It was wrapped around his pale arm loosely, and there was still room to spare. But then, Shikamaru had always been rather bigger than him, if not always in height then in stature due to being naturaly bulkier than him. During the past year, that difference had become ridiculous. Shikamaru's biceps were corded and rippled with muscle, and you could probably wash actual clothes on his abs .

Neji paused, unable to deny Shikamaru anything when those rough yet gentle fingers were in contact with his icy skin. He could smell the strong masculine scent of grass and something woody, like pine needles, interspersed with the faint scent of sweat.

"You're coming with me, and that's final," Shikamaru breathed in his ear. It annoyed the Hyuuga that Shikamaru had a hold over him, but there was nothing he could do about that now.

Neji could just imagine the smirk on Shikamaru's face as the Hyuuga froze at the sensation of hot breath tickling his cheek, his cheeks flushing brilliantly. It took a while for his flustered brain to process what he had just been told, and his flush became one of indignation.

"You can't just order me around!" he retorted with amazed incredulity, spinning around to face the baseball star.

"If it keeps you away from this guy, I can," Shikamaru replied easily, "Calling the police would be too troublesome, and they're useless anyway,"

"That's not a good enough reason!" Neji seethed, "You might take advantage of me yourself!"

"Only if you want me to," Shikamaru quipped in response, smirking at the dull flush that formed on Neji's cheeks.

"I'm not coming with you," Neji told him after a beat.

"You are even if I have to carry you there," Shikamaru replied with a roll of his eyes, "Tch, troublesome,"

"You wouldn't dare," Neji said calmly, and in that instant he wished he hadn't spoken those words. Because they were as bad as "Things can't get any worse" when it came to proving you wrong.

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(1) Exactly 9 stone.


	2. Chapter 2

**EDITED 17/06/09**

Chapter 2: 

As though Neji were a sack of potatoes, Shikamaru calmly heaved him up and threw Neji's kicking, shouting form over his shoulder, before beginning to calmly walk off down the street, unaffected by Neji's protestations. Resorting to physical attacks, he began to beat on Shikamaru's strong back with his fists, but it was futile.

Despite the fact that this hurt Shikamaru little more than a buzzing fly, flies soon become rather annoying. So, without breaking stride, Shikamaru delivered a sound smack to Neji's firm round backside, smirking at the stunned squeak the action elicited.

"_Shikamaru_!" Neji growled warningly, "Keep your hands off my person or I will remove them from _your _person!"

Shikamaru sniggered.

"It stopped you from thrashing about, didn't it?" he said cheerfully, clearly enjoying this situation more than was warranted, "And that squeak you made was priceless,"

"I did not _squeak,"_ Neji said, contradicting himself on the last word as Shikamaru once again delivered a stinging slap to his barely covered backside.

"You were saying?" the baseball star said dryly as Neji twisted to glower at the back of Shikamaru's head.

"You saved me from one stalker just so you could molest me yourself," Neji said accusingly.

"Hey, I'm just getting my reward for putting my life on the line,"

"You had a katana! He's a good four inches smaller than you! Where was the danger?"

"You can't be too careful these days. He could have been a maniac,"

"And you aren't?"

"Of course not. I'm as sane as a human being can ever be,"

"Personally, I think those cigarettes you smoke are dulling you wits,"

"Well, I seem to remember one of us here getting an insanely high score on an IQ test, and it's not you,"

"That's irrelevant," Neji huffed, wishing he could cross his arms petulantly.

"Of course it is," Shikamaru replied patronisingly, giving Neji's ass a squeeze for good measure.

"Nara!" Neji growled, his voice showing how close to losing his balls Shikamaru really was.

"Alright, alright," the baseball star replied, "Jeez, people like you just can't take a joke,"

"Could it be that your jokes just aren't funny?" Neji deadpanned.

"Could it be that you just have a stick up your ass?"

"No!" Neji shouted, his face practically glowing in the November night.

"Too bad. I was hoping I could take it out and replace it with something else," Shikamaru replied, his voice light and teasing.

"Nice, Nara," Neji said in response, "What's your encore? "Do you come here often"?"

"Nah, that's generally where I just move in for the kill," Shikamaru quipped, the laughter in his voice showing that he was joking, "Besides, that line is lame. Mine's gold,"

"I don't know. You seem more likely to get punched when you use yours,"

"Wouldn't _you _like to know," Shikamaru said, the leer in his voice very much apparent. Once again, Neji found his cheeks becoming a very interesting shade of pink, and he idly wondered how many more times he would have to blush before his face stayed like that permanently.

"Not really," he said coldly, hoping his embarrassment wasn't too apparent.

"Yes you do," Shikamaru said with such conviction that Neji knew he wasn't joking and stiffened noticeably.

"Of course I don't want to know about your past conquests!" Neji seethed.

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy in that voice of yours?"

"That's so cliché, it's not even funny," Neji replied, his face still feeling like it was on fire. He yelped spectacularly when Shikamaru pinched his backside in response, and he wondered if replying with words was too troublesome for the lazy genius.

"What is your fascination with that particular part of my body?" Neji demanded, his glower becoming darker as Shikamaru stopped walking, jarring the Hyuuga.

"We're here," he announced cheerfully, ignoring Neji's previous question. But Neji forgot about that when Shikamaru rang the doorbell, because he knew that the first part of him the person who answered the door would meet was his ass. It wouldn't exactly make for a good first impression, to say the least.

"Put me down, Nara!" he commanded, "Or I swear, I'll rip off your balls and force feed them to you!"

"Ouch," Shikamaru said, "Sounds painful. But wouldn't you rather I ate _your _balls instead?"

"Pervert!" Neji spat in response, managing to bring his left hand up and smack Shikamaru on the back of his head.

"Ouch!" Shikamaru responded, "Jeez, you don't need to take it so personally!"

"Stop making such uncouth comments then,"

"Uncouth, Hyuuga? What century have you stepped out of?"

"This one, but I wish I could have stepped out of the sixteenth century,"

"Why's that?"

"Because it was perfectly legal for me to run you through with this katana,"

"No, because that would be murder, and that wasn't allowed,"

"With the way you're going, it won't be long before I don't care about that minor detail,"

"I'd love to see you try, skinny,"

"I'll show you skinny when you're chewing on your own-!"

"Ahem!"

Both teenagers promptly forgot about their petty squabble and Shikamaru wasted no time in setting Neji down on his feet. Both turned slowly to look into the angry face of Nara Yoshino, Neji with wide eyes and Shikamaru with a smirk. She struck an oddly impressive figure as she stood in the door frame wearing an apron, brandishing a wooden spoon threateningly, although the effect was ruined somewhat by the laughter of her husband, who looked like an older, less handsome version of Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru!" she said, drawing herself up threateningly, "Explain yourself!"

"I didn't do anything," he said innocently, "Right, Neji?"

"Other than throw me over your shoulder like some kind of an ape and drag me half way across town!"

"Hey, I gave you my jacket, didn't I?"

"Shikamaru!" Yoshino interrupted.

"What?" the Nara replied boredly.

"Is this true?"

"Hey, I should be getting praised for saving him from a scary stalker," Shikamaru protested.

"Scarier than your mom?" Shikamaru's father said, appearing at his wife's shoulder.

"Shikaku!" Yoshino said, striking her husband on the knuckles with a resounding crack. He reeled back, rubbing his hand.

"OK, OK," he said, "I'm going, woman!"

"_Shikaku_!"

"I mean...yes, dear," Shikaku corrected meekly, much to Shikamaru's amusement. He didn't dare do more than smirk, though; he didn't want that spoon turned on him. Those things could be dangerous, especially when wielded by an angry housewife.

"I'm sorry about my idiotic son and my worthless husband," Yoshino sighed, her expression morphing in an instant. Neji merely nodded.

"It's quite alright," he responded awkwardly, "And..."

He looked at Shikamaru hesitantly.

"Well, I suppose I owe Shikamaru my gratitude for saving me,"

The words tasted sour in his mouth, but common courtesy dictated that he should at least show his thanks. No matter how much it hurt his pride to do so.

"You mean you _do _have a stalker?" Yoshino asked, raising her eyebrows before Shikamaru could respond, "And my lousy son actually _saved _you?"

"Hey, he's not that bad!" Neji protested without thinking, turning a deep pink when Shikamaru sniggered.

"Aw, you really _do _care!" he said, wrapping his arm around Neji's slim shoulders. Instead of replying, Neji just folded his arms and refused to retaliate. In return, Shikamaru made no move to let go of the smaller teenager.

"In response to Yoshino san's question," Neji said, ignoring the baseball star, "Yes, I do have a stalker. And yes, Shikamaru did save me from him,"

"Well, I suppose even Shikamaru has some good in him somewhere," Yoshino sighed, smiling at Neji sweetly.

"Yeah, yeah," Shikamaru muttered, "Come on Neji, before my mom eats you alive,"

Neji gaped at the baseball star, appalled by his lack of respect towards his mother. It was his own fault, really, that he had to quickly dodge a deadly wooden spoon that had been aimed at a rather sensitive area. He quickly rushed past his angry mother, pulling Neji with him because he was sure that Yoshino wouldn't try to harm him if he had Neji with him. He let him go once he was inside and toed his shoes off before leaving them at the bottom of the stairs. Compulsively, Neji tidied the mess and put his own shoes neatly next to Shikamaru's.

"C'mon, Neji," Shikamaru called, already half way up the stairs. Neji followed uneasily, not comfortable in somebody else's house, entering Shikamaru's room as the baseball star held it open for him. He nodded his thanks, nervousness beginning to take hold now that he was alone in Shikamaru's bedroom with the teenager. He watched Shikamaru rummage through the bottom of his wardrobe, vaguely surprised that the room wasn't at all messy as he had expected. Shikamaru's tendency to do the bare minimum of work was well-known, and he doubted that the lazy genius tidied his room with little arguing between him and his domineering mother.

"Here," Shikamaru said, tossing the Hyuuga some clothes that had become too small for him. He suspected that they would fit the Hyuuga perfectly, as he was perhaps an inch or two smaller than Shikamaru, and so slender that Shikamaru hadn't believed it until he had Neji comfortably slung over his shoulder.

"Where's your bathroom?" Neji asked, clutching the clothes without looking at them.

"Through there," Shikamaru said, indicating the half open door that was close to his window. Neji hesitated.

"Does the window in there have a curtain?" he asked, his eyes betraying his worry. Shikamaru nodded, remaining by the door. He intended to go and tell his mom and dad what was going on, since the troublesome woman would only nag him if he didn't.

"Yeah, it does, " he replied shortly, and, although he couldn't see it, he could sense the way Neji relaxed at that. Afterall, the stalker wasn't going to just give up and go home. He had been temporarily incapacitated. Nothing more. And that would soon wear off, leaving the idiot more determined than before, he'd wager.

He heard the soft sound of Neji walking across the wooden floor of his bedroom and then the click of the door closing. However, he didn't lock it. Shikamaru suspected that he just felt safer, knowing that he wouldn't have to fumble with a lock if he got spooked.

He was asleep when Neji returned from his shower, lying on his back with one hand thrown out to dangle over the side of the bed. He looked almost...cute, and Neji had to stifle a furious blush at the thought. Shikamaru would tease him until the end of time if he knew. Not that he didn't have enough material on Neji already anyway. He bit his lip at that thought, wondering if he could escape before the genius woke but dismissed the idea instantly. Although he hated to admit it, even to himself, he felt safer and more secure there with Shikamaru, and he didn't want to leave really. This was the perhaps the third time he had ever actually spoken to the baseball player, and the other two times had been because Neji had let Shikamaru copy his Creative Writing homework. Although brilliant, the Nara didn't have a creative bone in his body, and a wide vocabulary was useless unless you knew how to use it.

Neji sighed and shook the sleeping teenager, feeling a thrill course its way up his arm as his hand came into contact with smooth corded skin. Unfortunately, it seemed that Shikamaru was quite capable of sleeping like a log and merely muttered something unintelligible before rolling onto his stomach. Not one to be dissuaded, Neji persisted in shaking the Nara, but it proved to be useless.

"Come on, Nara!" he said loudly into the room, but Shikamaru didn't seem to hear him.

_Fine, _he thought, _Have it your way_.

And without preamble, he climbed onto the bed and sat down as heavily as he could on Shikamaru's very well built back. That did the trick. With a grunt and a muffled curse that Neji would never repeat for fear of his dear Uncle over hearing and dropping dead due to a heart attack, his eyes snapped open.

"Troublesome," he muttered, sending Neji a peeved look over his shoulder. The Hyuuga smiled angelically at him.

"You wouldn't wake up," he explained in a voice so sugary it would put a sweet shop to shame.

"Yeah, well I'm awake now," Shikamaru yawned, "So you can get off me,"

Neji obeyed, proud of the fact that he was able to refrain from blushing this time, and stood by Shikamaru's bed. The younger gazed up at him blearily, before looking him up and down with a raised eyebrow. Neji pressed his thighs together in reflex and folded his arms, feeling extremely vulnerable before that gaze.

"Those clothes look good on you," Shikamaru said, nodding towards Neji.

"The capris are too tight," Neji replied uncomfortably.

"Well, I did grow out of them when I was fifteen," Shikamaru shrugged, remembering the unexpected but very welcome growth spurt he had undergone last year. He had only been about 5,7" and quite skinny, but, a year later, he now stood at a very respectable height and had put on a lot of muscle mass. It was rather tall for somebody of his age, especially since he was also Japanese, and he was now the tallest in their high school. And, while he wasn't mobbed on a daily basis because of his looks like Uchiha Sasuke, he frequently garnered appreciative glances from girls and boys alike.

"I suppose that explains why they feel as though they are trying to climb inside me," Neji said, referring to his clothes, "And I don't see the reason that you decided to choose this t-shirt for me. It's enormous,"

To demonstrate, he tugged at the shirt, which was probably at least three sizes too big for him.

"That one is a little baggy on me too. But it was right at the top of my drawer so I grabbed it," Shikamaru shrugged.

"Where-where will I be sleeping tonight?" Neji asked hesitantly after a moment of comfortable silence.

"Right here," Shikamaru said, patting his bed with a smirk. The look of embarrassment mixed with horror was so out of place of that normally haughty face that it was almost funny, in a way. Surprisingly, Neji made no protest and instead asked if Shikamaru had a toothbrush, mouthwash, toothpaste and floss he could use, since he refused to go to bed with out cleaning his teeth.

"My medicine cabinet has an unopened brush in it," Shikamaru told Neji, "And you can just use my mouthwash and stuff,"

Neji thanked him politely and retreated to the bathroom, leaving Shikamaru alone. He took quite a long time brushing his teeth, as he was proud of the fact that they were pristine white and perfectly even enough for toothpaste commercial.

When he returned to Shikamaru's bedroom, the lazy Nara was, surprisingly, sitting by his computer. Neji was unwilling to disturb him and continued to loiter by the door until Shikamaru actually looked up and saw him.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen any time soon. Feeling slightly rude, he stepped into the baseball star's room awkwardly.

"Hi," he muttered. Shikamaru turned in his swivel chair to look at Neji.

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The Follower seethed silently as he stormed up to his room. His mother called after him, but he ignored her and slammed the door before beginning to kick it viscously. Finally, when he was able to function properly without wanting to break things, he threw his mask at his bed and yanked back the curtain which covered his far wall. Underneath was a vast quantity of photographs, pieces of paper, discarded magazines and even bits of hair. All to do with Neji. Furiously, he gripped the closest photograph that showed Neji sleeping in his enormous bed, raven hair spilling onto the white sheets like ink. He couldn't handle the perfection of that image and yanked it off the wall with an animalistic bellow of rage. Another photo met the same fate, this time one of Neji sitting in class near the window, quietly taking notes. Another followed, and another, and another, until the tattered remnants of the shrine were strewn all over the carpet and hanging off the walls.

But it still wasn't enough. Sticking his hand underneath his bed, he pulled out a large cardboard box which was filled with dvds. They were labelled "Neji 1" to "Neji 96". His devotion was clear, he thought. Afterall, would anybody else spend night after night staking out their love's house to find out enough about them to please them? Yet it was all for nought, because Neji was with Nara Shikamaru now, probably getting a thorough fucking from that brainy, attractive baseball player. As this thought occurred to him, he lifted the box in his hands with a white knuckled grip before hurling it at the wall, howling his anger to the heavens. It wasn't fair! Why should Shikamaru get Neji when he had barely even talked to the Hyuuga before tonight?

He glared darkly at his wall, yanking off his shirt to reveal a relatively well-built body, and stopped dead as a thick black book hit the floor with a muffled thud. He picked it up curiously, realising that it was Neji's diary with a jolt. Opening it to a random page, he began to read, his excitement building with each word. Maybe...

He glanced at his wall where scraps of photographs still hung from the plaster.

Maybe all wasn't lost.

Slowly, he began to repair the damage to his shrine, a plan coming together in his head. He would make Neji his. And if the Hyuuga still wasn't receptive to his advances...

Well, if he couldn't have have Neji, nobody could.

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**Thanks for reading, folks! This was originally intended to be a short little ficlet, but it's rapidly escalating into a monster. This chapter isn't as long as the first one, but it's still pretty damn huge. **

**Once again, for my darling Headraline. It looks like you're getting a multi-chaptered fic rather than a one- or two-shot as I originally intended. Oh well. I haven't exactly sent you my drawing yet, and Sinful remains unfinished, so it's only fitting, I guess. I hope you like it!**

**Thanks to all the lovely people that reviewed the first chapter!**

**Ja ne, all!**

**TenshiXXX**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

"I'll sleep on the futon," Neji muttered, avoiding Shikamaru's gaze. For his part, Shikamaru responded with a flat look and a yawn.

"And have you cranky and evil tomorrow because you couldn't sleep properly and managed to get a stiff neck?" he snorted, "No thanks. You're sleeping in the bed,"

"Then _you _sleep on the futon," Neji responded coolly. Shikamaru actually managed to summon up an expression vaguely resembling disbelief. However, his voice was as flat as ever when he replied.

"Are you crazy?" he asked, almost as though he actually believed that this was the case, "I like my bed. I'm not giving it up for anyone,"

"We can't sleep in the same bed!" Neji responded irritably, if not a little petulantly. It wasn't for his own good so much as it was for _Shikamaru's _own good. Neji didn't want to snap during the night and kiss the lazy bastard senseless, scaring him out of his wits.

"You weren't protesting this much before when I pitched the idea to you before," Shikamaru said with annoyance. It seemed to be one of the few expressions that apparently didn't take too much effort to form.

Neji didn't have anything to say to that. Instead, he sighed and clambered over the bed to lie near the wall, feeling safer that way. Shikamaru, for his part, didn't comment. Had he said anything, Neji would have broken his nose, host or not. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Shikamaru clapped abruptly, causing the lights to go out.

"Good night," Shikamaru grunted as he too climbed in the bed, his body too close for Neji's comfort. To escape the tantalising heat radiating from Shikamaru's body, Neji pressed himself closer to the cold wall.

"What are you doing?" Shikamaru asked, his voice tinged with an odd mixture of amusement and annoyance, "I don't smell _that _bad, do I?"

"No, of course not," Neji muttered, still facing the wall, "I just don't like physical contact,"

"Whatever," Shikamaru snorted after a moment of silence. Neji physically relaxed, his eyes remaining wide open as they stared at the wall. He didn't even register the vulgar poster that was directly in his line of sight.

Soon, Shikamaru's regular breathing as he slumbered was the only sound that could be heard in the silence of the house. However, Neji's mind was exhausted and overloaded, and he began to imagine the sounds of footsteps in the hall, and everything suddenly became much more sinister. He clenched his eyes shut, but his mind became even more of an enemy as it supplied a vivid image of the stalker's crazed eyes. His eyelids snapped open again, and he tried to concentrate on the poster tacked to the wall, mentally criticising Shikamaru for his perverted ness. But he was unable to manage it for long, and instead reverted to his paranoid thoughts.

He almost growled out loud. Why was he behaving like such a weakling? He was Hyuuga Neji, one of the coldest, most unflappable people one could ever possibly meet. Yet here he was, trembling like a child in Shikamaru's bed because he was scared of a man in a hockey mask. If only his father could see him now.

There was a bang, and Neji sprang up with a gasp, unconsciously gripping Shikamaru's arm tightly. His nails were digging in, so it was understandable that Shikamaru groaned and opened his eyes.

"What the fuck?" he asked drowsily, sounding peeved.

"There was a bang," Neji snapped, trying to sound unembarrassed. Immediately, Shikamaru pressed his ear to the wall and groaned with disgust. Without preamble, he slammed his fist into the wall, startling Neji.

"Mom, dad!" he shouted, "Are you guys trying to destroy my brain?"

Neji's eyes widened. _Please tell me they weren't..._he thought desperately, but it was no use. Apparently, parents didn't stop having sex at thirty afterall. His illusions were now ruined.

"Aren't you pleased to know that your old man's still got it?" Shikaku called back, causing Neji to shove his head under his pillow.

"I don't care what you've got," Shikamaru moaned back, "Whatever it is, I don't want it either. Can you guys keep it down? I think you've permanently traumatised Neji, and I'm not coping much better,"

"It's not what you think, Shikamaru!" Yoshino called, for once sounding like a gentle soul rather than the domineering woman she really was.

"Mom, don't try to pass this off as something else. You know I'm smarter than you," Shikamaru replied with a sigh, causing Yoshino to revert back to her usual personality.

"Don't make me come in there, Shikamaru!" she bellowed. Neji winced, and Shikamaru visibly stiffened.

"There's no way you're getting in my room after what I've just heard you doing!" he shouted, leaping out of bed. Neji watched, bemused, as he locked the door from the inside, noting that he was wearing only a pair of green boxers.

"Nara Shikamaru!" Yoshino roared, sounding outraged, "You need to learn some respect for your mother!"

"I'll respect you when you respect my ear drums!" Shikamaru responded.

There was a pause as Shikaku said something to his wife, which Neji was unable to hear through the wall and the pillow clamped over his head. Then there was silence. Shikamaru sighed and slumped back down into the bed.

"You might want to lie down properly," Shikamaru muttered, indicating Neji's position, "Or I might take it as an invitation,"

Neji realised that he was literally face down, ass up and rolled onto his back to glare coldly at Shikamaru.

"You're disgusting," he said, although his voice lacked any real venom. To be perfectly honest (which was probably a first for Neji), he felt much safer now that Shikamaru was awake, and it would take a great amount of teasing before Neji became so annoyed that he wished Shikamaru hadn't woken up.

Shikamaru shrugged in response to Neji's remark, as though indicating that Neji was right, and that he didn't care.

"What were you doing awake at this hour, anyway?" he asked, stretching with a yawn. Neji stared at his exposed stomach with both envy and desire, simultaneously wishing that his stomach was as muscular, and wishing that he would reach out and touch Shikamaru's, with fingers, lips and tongue.

He came back to the present rather abruptly when Shikamaru shoved him roughly.

"Are you going to answer me today, or are you just going to stare at me?" he asked boredly. Neji's face went a very interesting shade of crimson, and he was glad that it was too dark for Shikamaru to see it.

"I wasn't staring," Neji snapped.

"Just answer the question," Shikamaru said, a tad impatiently. Apparently, he didn't want to have a leisurely chat at midnight. Who in their right minds would?

"That noise woke me up," Neji lied, staring at that poster again. He feared that the tasteless image of the large breasted brunette would forever be imprinted on his retinas.

"Liar," Shikamaru grunted, sounding amused, "You would have been as drowsy as me if you'd heard that noise and it had woken you up,"

Neji's mouth snapped shut as he glared.

"You were already awake," Shikamaru continued, "Couldn't sleep?"

Neji didn't reply, turning his back on Shikamaru as he faced the wall again.

"You were scared," Shikamaru deduced. Neji tensed but remained unresponsive. That was, until he felt the warm solidness of Shikamaru against his back, a single arm wrapping around his waist.

"What are you doing?" he hissed in the darkness.

"_Now _you decide to whisper?" Shikamaru mumbled into Neji's hair. Neji gaped at the wall, frozen in terror and nervousness. He could barely breathe. This was more contact than he'd had since his mother had held him as a small child. It felt amazing, but, at the same time, he was embarrassed that he was letting his guard down so easily.

"Stop thinking so much," Shikamaru muttered, his warm breath sending shivers down Neji's spine as it caressed his ear, "You're so stiff, I can't get to sleep,"

"What do you expect me to do when you drape yourself over me like that?" Neji asked. He had meant to sound brusque and harsh, but his tone was far too weak and pleading for his tastes. Shikamaru sighed and sat up, pulling Neji up aswell. Neji almost let out a gasp of surprise, but managed to contain himself.

"Just relax," Shikamaru said, sounding both annoyed and (was Neji imagining it?) warm, "You don't need to worry about that stalker attacking you. Black belt, remember?"

Neji bristled indignantly.

"I wasn't scared!" he growled.

"Call it what you want," Shikamaru sighed, "But I know fear when I see it. I'm beginning to think that, at the moment, it's not that stalker that you're scared of,"

"For the last time, I'm not scared!" Neji said, but the fact that he stumbled over the first syllable vastly decreased the impact of his words. He turned around, meeting Shikamaru's blank eyes which practically shone in the darkness. They were assessing him. He knew it. He stared back just as resolutely, determined not to be the first one to look away.

"You didn't tell me you were hurt," Shikamaru said suddenly. Neji stared without comprehension. Shikamaru snatched his hand, causing Neji's heart to leap in his throat. Neji could feel those fingers between his own, calloused in some places, smooth in others. Without realising it, Neji closed his pale, thin fingers around Shikamaru's hand.

Shikamaru met his gaze again, and Neji forced himself to look away. However, he refused to let go of Shikamaru's hand, partially believing that making a big deal out of it would make the situation worse.

With his other hand, Shikamaru lifted Neji's arm and ran his fingers over skinned elbows. Neji jerked and hissed at the sensation of Shikamaru's callouses abrading the tender lesion.

"Want me to kiss it better?" Shikamaru asked, and Neji could just _hear _the smirk in his voice. However, the air continued to thrum with tension, and it was with great effort that he managed to reply.

"You wouldn't dare," he said.

"Wouldn't I?" Shikamaru asked challengingly. Neji's grip around Shikamaru's hand tightened.

"I don't know," he responded.

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Neji felt his eyelids beginning to droop as he sat on the toilet seat while Shikamaru rummaged for the first aid kit in the bathroom cabinet. However, the sting of alcohol on his skinned elbows soon snapped him out of that stupor.

"Shikamaru!" he yelped in shock, hating the sensation of the alcohol wipes catching on the raw skin.

"Hmm, baby, say my name again," Shikamaru teased lightly. Neji punched him in the shoulder with the arm that wasn't currently being abused.

"Ow, dammit!" Shikamaru swore, "You've deadened my arm!"

Neji smirked with self-satisfaction.

"You know, I never knew you could punch like that," Shikamaru mused, seemingly determined not to let Neji get the last laugh, "Especially since you have all that girly hair,"

"Shikamaru," Neji growled warningly.

"And those gay clothes,"

"Nara!"

"And that virgin-"

"Finish that sentence and you'll never pronounce another," Neji vowed. Shikamaru stared at him with falsely guileless eyes.

"I was just going to say _skin_," he said, thin lips quirking into a smirk, "Having dirty thoughts?"

"Stop being such a lecher!" Neji growled, yanking his arm free from Shikamaru's grip. However, Shikamaru soon had Neji's arm back in his grasp again and began to put a band aid on it.

"Are we in the sixteenth century again?" Shikamaru asked musingly. Neji narrowed his eyes and refused to respond. He let Shikamaru win that round. Come to think of it, he seemed to let Shikamaru win _every _round. It was either that, or Shikamaru was sharper than him, in both wit and tongue. That was a thought Neji didn't like, and he much preferred to think that he himself was being lenient.

Then again, he had much more pressing things to worry about. Such as the whole elbow-kiss incident that had transpired not two minutes ago. The fact that Shikamaru hadn't actually gone through with it had only increased Neji's doubts about whether Shikamaru found him attractive, or indeed whether he swung that way at all. Shikamaru certainly hadn't given any clues that would lead Neji to believe that he was anything other than straight. Other than the constant teasing remarks that could possibly be interpreted as flirting, that is. However, Shikamaru's comments may have platonic, affectionate banter.

_Even that may be in doubt_, Neji thought, _He may be kind to me, but that doesn't mean he cares for me._

Shikamaru had finished with Neji's arm a while ago, but Neji was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice until Shikamaru squeezed his arm gently yet firmly.

"Other arm," he said, in a tone that would have been business-like if he hadn't punctured that remark with a huge yawn. Clearly, he was tired. Neji was only grateful that tomorrow was Saturday.

Silence fell as Shikamaru methodically cleaned Neji's elbow and put a band aid on it. Despite Neji's initial protests, he managed to get Neji to take his shirt and capris off so that he could check for more damage. Neji stood in the cool bathroom, arms wrapped around himself as he tried to both keep himself warm, and hide his nearly nude body from Shikamaru's eyes.

But Shikamaru didn't appear at all interested. He cleaned and wrapped Neji's cuts and bruises with the efficiency of a doctor, remaining completely detached. Strangely, Neji would have preferred to feel Shikamaru stare at him with desire than to have Shikamaru ignore him as though he was one of those normal people.

Neji wasn't a narcissistic person. While he was aware of his attractiveness, he didn't let his looks rule his life like some shallow, unintelligent people did. Yet he was slightly insulted that Shikamaru didn't seem to appreciate how attractive Neji was.

It was with a heavy heart that Neji clambered back into bed, even when he felt Shikamaru spoon up against him, burying his face in Neji's hair. He held Neji like one would a teddy bear, and Neji was glad that nobody was there to witness the destruction of his pride.

"Shikamaru?" he called after a moment.

"Nnyuh?" Shikamaru responded sleepily. Neji almost imagined that he felt Shikamaru sniff his hair, but quickly dispelled that thought.

"Get off me," Neji said, suspecting that it was futile to hope that Shikamaru would listen.

He was unsurprised when Shikamaru grunted something and spooned himself closer to Neji's body. Neji sighed. He hated clichés with a passion, but one fit so well with his situation that he could have laughed had he not been such a cold bastard.

_This is going to be a long night_, he predicted, relaxing. He wasn't going to be able to escape anytime soon, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to get comfortable.

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**Are you all happy? If you answer yes, good. If you answer no...**

**WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!**

**Anyways, I'm sorry that this fic was practically abandoned for so long. But, as you can see, I've done some major editing. Scratch that, I drastically changed the storyline. **

**I hope it was enjoyable!**

**Thank you to **_**Inashosetai **_**and **_**Ichigo_ando_hime **_**for debating about the elbow-kissing scene with me. It really helped me.**

**One again, this story is dedicated to **_**Headraline**_**. Sorry about the crappiness. I can't seem to do anything right for you, can I? I still haven't sent you that picture from last Hallowe'en. I'm so sorry. I'll try to get it to you this Hallowe'en. XD**

**Ja ne, all!**

**TenshiXXX**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

To Neji's surprise, he managed to drop off to sleep almost instantly. When he awoke, it was still dark, and Neji judged it to be about 5am. He didn't want to get out of bed, but his bladder was screaming at him for relief, so Neji carefully extrapolated himself from Shikamaru's vice-like hold and went to relieve himself.

When he returned, Shikamaru had cracked one eye open and was staring at him with a peeved expression on his face.

"What?" Neji asked uncomfortably. Surely Shikamaru couldn't possibly blame him for last night. It had been Shikamaru who was draped over _him_, not the other way around, afterall.

"Did you have to get up this early?" Shikamaru grumbled, his voice husky from sleep. Neji resolutely stamped on the part of his mind that was pointing out how alluring he sounded.

"I needed the bathroom. In future, I'll make sure to urinate on you," Neji muttered grumpily, causing Shikamaru to smirk.

"Kinky," he snorted, but sat up and yawned, stretching. Neji looked away.

"Why are you getting up?" he asked, his eyes fixed on that damn poster again. It was hideous.

"Lindsey Dawn?" Shikamaru said, nodding towards the poster, "Yeah, she's pretty hot depending on the camera angle,"

Neji's face burned.

"Are you going to answer my question?" he said in a voice of carefully controlled calm.

"Making breakfast," Shikamaru said with a yawn before standing up. His boxers slipped lower. Neji stiffled a groan.

"There's...no need," he said quickly, "We could go to a cafe I often visit later on. Let's go back to bed,"

He had been so eager for Shikamaru to hide his body so that temptation was gone that he didn't realise what he had said until a wide smirk spread across Shikamaru's face. Lying with his back against the the wall with a contented sigh, he held the covers up so that Neji had no choice but to climb underneath and struggle not to tense or do something he'd regret as Shikamaru's arm was draped over him. Nevertheless, he shivered.

"Cold?" Shikamaru asked, tightening his grip and pressing firmly against Neji's back.

"No," Neji whispered back in the darkness. And it was true. He was perfectly warm and content. The sound of the rain falling and the soothing presence of another body beside his own had relaxed him until he felt enjoyably lethargic. His shiver had not been because he was cold. It was a shiver of pleasure.

"Hmm 'k," Shikamaru replied with a yawn, his breath gusting against Neji's neck. Neji should have been disgusted. He was an avid hater of morning breath, and Shikamaru must have surely been in possession of it. But it only made him more comfortable as he burrowed down under the covers until only his eyes and nose were protruding.

At any other time, Neji would have fallen asleep instantly. But the thought that Shikamaru was so close to him, his hard body pressed into Neji's own, his groin centimetres from Neji's ass, was too much. Neji could not sleep. And, what is more, his body was very happy with the current position if the erection he was sporting was anything to go by. It strained against his tight capris, exquisitely painful. He longed to shuck those tight pants off and lie there naked, inviting Shikamaru to do what he wished.

But would Shikamaru except the invitation? Everything Neji had seen so far seemed to point at Shikamaru being one hundred percent straight. The teasing comments were probably just that: teasing. Yet Neji couldn't help wishing. Even if it was just sex, that would be enough. It would hurt to know that nothing would ever happen between them, but at least Neji would know that he'd had Nara Shikamaru, at least for a little while.

His erection had flagged with these depressing thoughts. He moved out of Shikamaru's grasp and lay on his back, watching Shikamaru's sleeping face in the darkness. He wanted to touch him and, being Hyuuga Neji, he did just that. There was a faint hint of bristles along his jawline, and his skin was warm beneath Neji's cooller palm.

Brown eyes snapped open. Neji attempted to yank his arm back, but firm fingers clamped down on his thin wrist. He allowed his arm to go limp as he stared into Shikamaru's serious face. He tried to mask his terror, but he was unsure how successful he was.

"Why were you stroking my face?" Shikamaru asked. He did not raised his voice, nor give any indication that he was angry or otherwise. His face was as blank as stone.

Neji remained silent, avoiding Shikamaru's gaze. His arm trembled slighly in Shikamaru's grip, despite his best efforts to keep his fear hidden.

"Hello?" Shikamaru said impatiently. Still, Neji didn't grant him an appropriate answer.

"Let go," he muttered instead. Shikamaru squeezed his wrist until he winced.

"No," Shikamaru responded. He didn't appear angry, which comforted Neji slightly. Yet there was no telling how he might react. Would he be disgusted?

Neji chewed the inside of his cheek and pulled harder, but Shikamaru's grip with firm and Neji merely succeeded in hurting his wrist.

"Let go," he said again, his voice taking on a pleading quality. Shikamaru didn't move, although Neji could see the muscles in his arm straining as Neji pulled at his wrist with his whole weight.

"Please," Neji added, swallowing his pride sourly. But to no avail.

Shikamaru leaned forwards. Neji flinched, expecting to be punched or else burned by harsh words.

What he didn't expect was to be pushed onto his back until Shikamaru loomed over him, straddling his thighs, leaning closer, closer, closer...

Neji's eyes nearly rolled back in pleasure at the first touch of slightly chapped lips against his mouth, a tongue slipping between his lips as slyly as a snake. He opened his mouth instantly, only to have Shikamaru draw back.

"I saved a stalker from a stalker," he said, looking supremely amused, yet not angry as Neji had expected. Nevertheless, Neji's face felt like a giant cherry.

"I'm not a stalker," he protested.

"You were stroking my face," Shikamaru said, sounding as though he was inches from laughing. That didn't make Neji feel any better. He remained silent, biting his tongue so that he wouldn't say something stupid, like a romantic declaration of love or "Fuck me!" Both would be equally likely to piss Shikamaru off. Neji was just glad that Shikamaru was too lazy to punch him.

"Nothing to say?" Shikamaru said.

"No," Neji responded, turning his head to the side so that he was facing away from Shikamaru, who was still straddling him and still had Neji's wrist in an iron grip.

A hand gripped his chin painfully, and he had to choice but to face Shikamaru head on, or else the bastard would twist his head off.

"Still not speaking then," Shikamaru said with a sigh. To Neji's surprise, he released Neji's hand and climbed off. Neji's wrist tingled, and he was sure that it would be a little sore for the rest of the day. Neji sat up at the edge of the bed, his legs hanging over. His back was rigid. He refused to slump like he was guilty of something. It wasn't his fault that he held a romantic attachment to somebody who didn't return his feelings. And he wouldn't let Shikamaru know that he was scared either. Hyuuga Neji was anything but a coward.

"You wanna know what I think?" Shikamaru said after several tense moments.

"Not particularly," Neji said dryly.

"Too bad," Shikamaru said boredly, "Because you're going to listen,"

He paused, waiting for Neji to protest. When Neji didn't, he ploughed on.

"I think you've liked me for quite some time," he said languidly. Neji's heart stopped.

"Why do you say that?" he asked calmly. But, inside, he was trembling.

"You constantly stare at me. You help me in class. You get a funny look on your face every time I talk to you. Whenever I go past, your friends nudge you and point at me. You treat my ex girlfriends like scum. Do you want me to go on?"

Neji didn't. He hadn't realised that he was being so indiscreet, and he was ashamed that he had been so blatant in his admiration for Shikamaru.

"If you knew, why didn't you say anything?" Neji asked. He bit harder on his tongue and tasted blood.

"I didn't know," Shikamaru responded simply, "Not until tonight,"

_When I made that collosal blunder, _Neji thought to himself sadly,_ But at least I know that he never wanted me._

The thought settled in his belly like a heavy stone. It actually hurt, physically aswell as mentally. He felt a painful sensation in his stomach, as though he'd been slashed open and left to bleed. It was unpleasant, to say the least.

"You had a good idea," Neji said, "Why else would I have been acting like that?"

"Well, you haven't helped me in class for quite some time," Shikamaru said, and Neji could imagine him shrugging. "The other signs could be attributed to dislike. I thought you might have found out that I was fucking Hinata-"

"What?!" Neji bellowed, leaping to his feet. Shikamaru winced. Neji didn't care. Not only was Hinata _not _a virgin, but she's slept with the person Neji wanted, and she'd lost her virginity long before Neji. It was a blow to his ego, to say the least.

"Ah," Shikamaru said, "Looks like you didn't know,"

"Of course I didn't know!" Neji yelled furiously, "Do you think you'd still have your _balls _if I knew that you'd corrupted my cousin?"

"Hey, she wasn't a virgin when I had her, ok?" Shikamaru said, holding his hands up placatingly, "I'd never be with a virgin. They get all...emotional and they're shit in bed,"

Neji was livid. He took a deep breath and then exhaled.

"Do you have a phone?" he asked, daring Shikamaru to refuse.

"Sure, why?" Shikamaru responded warily.

"Can I use it?" Neji asked, avoiding the question. Shikamaru heaved a sigh and grabbed his cell off the television stand by his bed before handing it to Neji.

"What are you doing?" he asked as Neji punched a number in.

"Informing Hiashi-sama that his daughter is less pure than he believes. A harlot seems to be more like it," Neji muttered heatedly in response.

"Wha- no!" Shikamaru said, his eyes going wide as he grabbed the phone off Neji. Or tried to. A furious grappling match ensued, during which Neji played dirty, using his nails to gain the advantage.

"Owowowow!" Shikamaru yelped, but didn't let go, much to Neji's frustration.

"Let go!" he shouted, "I'll bite you!"

"You're not fucking serious!" Shikamaru said back, wincing as Neji purposely leaned forwards with his mouth poised to sink his teeth in.

"Are you crazy?" Shikamaru asked, flinching as his hands began to bleed from Neji's nail assault.

Apparently, this was the last straw. Shikamaru had been holding back until now, seemingly not wanting to hurt Neji. Now, he used a good portion of his strength, wrenching Neji's hands until Neji gasped in pain. But he didn't let go and sunk his nails in deeper.

"Ow!" both moaned. Finally, Shikamaru's superior strength prevailed, and he yanked so hard that Neji yelped, letting go of the cell. However, things didn't go quite to plan. The resultant force caused Shikamaru to land on his back on the bed with Neji draped on top of him, panting for breath.

The door opened. Neji groaned and let his head flop lifelessly into the crook of Shikamaru's neck.

"Shikamaru! What's going on? All that shouting at this time of the morning is-"

Nara Yoshino didn't finish that sentence. On reflection, Neji could see what it looked like. He was panting for breath and draped over her son with Shikamaru's hands on his hips where they had landed reflexively when Neji had landed on him.

But Neji was too tired to bother with the cliche _it's not what it looks like_ and lay there, reflecting on the situation.

Shikamaru was strong. Neji hadn't expected that from one so lazy. He himself had a lot of physical power, which most did not know about, believing him to be weak because he was slender.

Shikamaru could have seriously injured Neji, had he wanted to. Neji was aware that he had behaved like an animal, and he was also uncomfortably aware that, had he been in Shikamaru's position and in possession of Shikamaru's strength, Shikamaru's hands and wrists would be out of commission for a while.

There was a wolf whistle.

Neji pushed himself up and groaned. Shikaku _had _to be there. Of course.

"I didn't think you had it in you," Shikaku remarked to Shikamaru with a grin, "He looks ready to call it a day, and it's only 6,"

"We were fighting," Shikamaru informed him with an eyeroll. He didn't seem bothered by his father's remarks.

"Kinky," Shikaku snorted. Like father like son, apparently.

"Old people shouldn't use sex-related words," Shikamaru said, "It tends to squick us young people,"

"Is everyone in your family a pervert?" Neji demanded, already in a bad mood.

"You're the one who was stroking my face while I slept," Shikamaru said carelessly. Shikaku grinned. Neji was tempted to leap out of the window.

Yoshino saved the day. Picking up the nearest object (which happened to be an empty bin near the door), she wacked Shikaku around the head with it.

"You're...making...Neji...uncomfortable!" she growled, hitting her husband with each word. Shikamaru winced sympathetically.

Once Shikaku was suitably cowed and had been sent downstairs to make tea, Yoshino turned to Neji sympathetically.

"What did my worthless son do to you?" she asked. Neji felt like even more of an ass.

"Yoshino-san," he replied, "He hasn't hurt me. But I've hurt him,"

Looking at Shikamaru's hands, Neji supressed a wince. On each, there were many crescent-shaped cuts which were still bleeding, in addition to several bloody furrows where Neji had slipped and literally clawed him.

"Why were you fighting?" Yoshino asked.

"I wanted to call my uncle to tell him that my cousin's been sleeping with people and Shikamaru wouldn't give me the phone," Neji said truthfully. Yoshino stared.

"Well, I'll start making breakfast," she announced, and shut the door as she left the room. It appeared that Shikamaru was a big boy now and could take care of himself.

Neji crawled off Shikamaru and went into the bathroom, retrieving the first aid kit before cleaning up the mess he had made of Shikamaru's hands.

"We should probably talk about this," Shikamaru said, interrupting the silence. Neji tensed.

"There's nothing to talk about," he retorted, smearing cream along one of the more painful-looking cuts he had inflicted, "Clearly, you don't feel any romantic inclinations towards me. In fact, I suspect that some part of you hates me. Afterall, you screwed my baby cousin,"

"I didn't realise it would upset you so much, ok?" Shikamaru said with a sigh. Neji's eyes narrowed.

"Don't lie!" Neji snapped, slapping on a band aid roughly.

"Ok, so maybe I did realise you'd be pissed," Shikamaru admitted, "That's why I didn't let everyone know,"

Neji chewed the inside of his cheek roughly to prevent himself from uttering a scathing remark. He was startled out of his dark contemplations by Shikamaru snatching his hand back.

"Look," he said, the word coming out like a groan, "I think we need to get one thing cleared up,"

Neji watched him expectantly, kneeling in front of him on the floor. Shikamaru sighed.

"I'm not straight," he told Neji, "Gender doesn't matter to me. I'm too smart for that. And, yeah, you're sex on legs, Hyuuga. But I'm not looking to date anybody right now. I just thought I'd let you know that I think you're hot, and I'd jump at the chance to fuck you. But I know you want a relationship, and, after that mess with TenTen, I've decided to give it a break. It's too troublesome,"

Neji was silent, digesting this.

"TenTen aswell?" he asked, but he wasn't angry. He had come to realise that so much was going on without his knowledge. This was just one more thing to add to an ever growing list of things he didn't know about.

"Yeah," Shikamaru replied, looking as though he was having a flashback to a very bad memory.

Neji hesitated. He was so used to getting what he wanted that it would be too hard to let this go. He'd liked Shikamaru for the better part of four years, and he could just as easily relinquish his feelings for Shikamaru as he could rip out his own heart. But was he stubborn enough to swallow his pride and do everything to win Shikamaru over? Did he have the determination?

_Yes_, Neji thought resolutely, _I do._

However, he didn't speak these thoughts out loud, as he was aware that Shikamaru wouldn't take to kindly to them.

"Kiss me," he said instead. Shikamaru looked as though he had swallowed his own tongue. But Neji didn't give him a chance to reply. He stood up, pleased that Shikamaru's eyes lingered on his crotch. Shikamaru looked at him questioningly once he had torn his eyes away.

Neji could have smirked. For once, he was in control of the situation.

He sat on Shikamaru's lap, knees on either side of him, and then leaned down to kiss him once on the lips.

"You seem to like touching me enough. I'll change your mind," Neji vowed. Shikamaru regarded him for a moment. Then, his familiar smirk surfaced.

"You can try," he said back.

"I can succeed," Neji responded with the customary haughtiness he affected at school.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ok, firstly, I don't think Hinata's a slut. I'm not bashing her. I'm just speaking from Neji's POV. And he believes that she should be a virgin till she's 40 and married XD

Sorry that this update is a long time coming. And sorry it's so shitty. I can't seem to get this fic right, can I? I hope the thought of Neji and Shikamaru fighting like that amused you as much as it did me.

Please review!

Ja ne, all!

TenshiXXX


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